An object of my prior invention described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,060 was to improve on commonly-used electrical outlet box mounting means shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,135,337 and 4,399,922, particularly for mounting a single 4 11/16" box for which there is presently no adequate bracket. My later invention described in copending application Ser. No. 06/750,254, as an improvement over the prior invention described in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,060 sought to reduce time and labor requirements for installation of pairs of electrical outlet boxes and while so doing to provide a mounting bracket which affords a relatively wide range of adjustability for mounting a pair or more of either 4" or 4 11/16" size boxes. The present invention as a still further improvement seeks to provide an improved means for installing a single outlet box utilizing both a bracket and an adjustably positionable extension plate with means to stiffen the mounting location.
The preferred method for installing a single outlet box is to mount the outlet box on a bracket secured to the stud rather than mounting the outlet box on the stud itself. In this preferred method, it is desirable to first install the bracket and then the outlet box. After these operations are completed and appropriate knock-out discs removed, it is desirable to next secure the pipe or cable, then pull the wire, make up the wirings, joints, and splices and finally secure the dry wall ring to the bracket and box. Experience on the job dictates the described procedure as being effective to save both time and expense.
The bracket described in applicant's prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,337 provided a significant improvement over previously-available, box-mounting devices, particularly for mounting a single conventional four-inch square size outlet box. U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,337 also provided an improvement for mounting pairs of outlet boxes as seen in FIG. 6 of the patent. However, disadvantages existed which hampered the complete acceptance of the bracket of U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,337 when applied to the large 4 11/16 inch square size boxes, either singly or in pairs. For the larger size boxes, it was found necessary to remove all of the outlet box mounting screws in order to attach the box to its mounting bracket after the bracket had been attached to the stud. The necessity to remove the box mounting screws arose irrespective of how the outlet box screw tabs were oriented with respect to the bracket. Another disadvantage resided in the fact that the bracket allowed no horizontal or vertical adjustment of the mounting screws with respect to the bracket. As another aspect of the prior art, the bracket described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,337 provided an offset only on the side of the bracket attached to the stud so as to offset the dry wall ring and thus reduce bulging of the finished dry wall plaster. However, this single offset arrangement has not been found completely satisfactory and a need arose to improve the manner in which the dry wall ring is offset on the bracket when mounting either a single outlet box or a pair or more of outlet boxes so as to provide further improvements in the reduction of the bulging of the finished dry wall or plaster.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,922 attempted to overcome some of the inconveniences of applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,337 particularly as it applied to mounting single outlet boxes. However, the outlet mounting arrangement of U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,922 provided no vertical or horizontal adjustment of the outlet box in relation to the bracket and also required that the dry wall ring be attached before mounting the bracket. Thus, the working space within the outlet box becomes substantially restricted. U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,922 also teaches a flat surfaced bracket without offsets and which continues the problem of reducing bulging of the finished drywall or plaster. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,922 does not deal with mounting more than a single outlet box.
The bracket arrangement of copending application Ser. No. 06/750,254 improved upon the bracket construction for mounting pairs of outlet boxes whether of the 4" or 4 11/16" size. The disadvantages of the bracket shown in FIG. 7 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,337 for mounting a pair of outlet boxes have been mentioned. Also to be noted is that U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,337 in FIG. 7 does not provide means for stiffening the cantilevered bracket arm on which each outlet box is mounted. While U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,922 does not teach mounting a pair of outlet boxes, this patent usefully teaches use of a stiffening arm for a single outlet box. Such an arm is uniquely incorporated as a part of the present invention for mounting a single outlet box with an adjustably positionable extension plate having a stiffening arm in conjunction with a mounting bracket also having a stiffening arm. Though passing of a conduit through a hole formed in a stiffening arm is known, the stiffening arms of the present invention also uniquely provide this option.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,060 describes an improved mounting bracket which can be sized to fit either a single standard large size box or a single standard small size box and typical non-standard dry wall rings. The improved mounting bracket of U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,060 allows a single outlet box to be attached to its mounting bracket without having to remove all of the mounting screws, provides both vertical and horizontal adjustment of the outlet box with respect to the bracket, allows a maximum opening for wiring operations prior to final assembly of the dry wall ring, does not require that the dry wall ring be assembled to the bracket before wiring the outlet box and finally provides improvements in the offset needed to eliminate bulging of the finished dry wall or plaster. The retention of these desirable single outlet box mounting features in a still further improved outlet mounting assembly for mounting a single outlet box thus becomes an object of the present invention which along with other objects will become apparent as the description proceeds. The invention set forth in copending application Ser. No. 06/750,264 taught the mounting of pairs of outlet boxes offset from the stud positions. The present invention has as a specific object meeting a similar need in the industry for being able to mount a single outlet box in a position substantially offset from the stud position particularly when the studs are spaced substantially far apart such as on 24" centers.